GREATER FORT LAUDERDALE SOCCER

OVERVIEW OF SOCCER IN AMERICA AND FLORIDA

1875-1894 - Modern soccer comes to the United States during the immigrant influx

1893 - Men's soccer programs start to form in colleges.

1894 - The first professional men's league

1904 - FIFA was founded to organize the global game

1908 - Soccer becomes an official Olympic medal sport.

1913 - USSF (formerly US Football Association) becomes and affiliate of FIFA.

1924 - The first US Olympic soccer team.

1930 - US participates in the first World Cup in Uruguay.

1950's - NCAA recognizes men's soccer

1962 - AYSO was founded to organize and promote youth soccer. 

1972 - Title IX Educational Amendment to the Education Act of 1965 mandates gender equity in education.  College and High School soccer takes off.

1974 - USYSA forms to organize competitive (aka travel) youth soccer and becomes and affiliate of USSF, with over 100,000 registered players.

1976 - 10,000 girls are playing high school soccer representing less than 10% of the total.

1977 - FHSAA sanctions boys soccer in Florida.  State championship begins with Miami Killian beating  Miami Norland.

1978 - Title IX deadline implementation for high school and colleges

1980 - 41,000 girls playing high school soccer, representing almost 25% of the total.

1981 - NCAA men’s soccer reaches 521 varsity teams, compared to 77 for women.

1981 - NCAA announces its 100th women's soccer program.

1981 - First college soccer championship for women under AIAW

1982 - FHSAA sanctions girls soccer in Florida with the State championship series won by Coral Gables over Coral Springs.

1982 - NCAA sponsors women’s sports

1984-85 - NASL and USL professional men's leagues fold leaving only the Western Soccer League

1985 - NCAA women's soccer reaches 201 teams

1985 - USSF inaugurates the Women's National Team

1988 - WSL merges with upstart ASL to form the APSL, a FIFA recognized Division II men's league.

1988 - AYSO sponsors Futsal in the US

1990- Female high school soccer reaches 35%

1990 - NCAA women's soccer teams reach 318, nearly 40% of total; men teams climb to 569.

1994 - First World Cup played in the United States

1995 - USYSA sponsors Futsal in the US

1996 - MLS begins as the first FIFA recognized Division I men's league


1996 - FHSAA announces 18,263 soccer participants; 9,880 boys (332 teams) and 8,383 girls (271).

1997 - NCAA women's soccer teams pass men.

1999 - AYSO grows to over 1,000,000 registered recreational youth players.

1999 - NCAA announces 790 women soccer teams compared to 719 for men.

2000 - 50% of youth participants are female.

2000 - 270,000 girls play high school soccer, representing 42%.

2001 - WUSA was born as the first women's professional league

2004 - WUSA suspends operations due to financial losses

2004 - USYSA announces over 3,200,000 registered youth recreational and competitive players.

2007 - FHSAA announces 529 boys teams (14,137) and 502 girls teams (13,562); making it the single largest girls sport in the state. There are now more girls soccer players than baseball players in Florida.

2007 - WSII and MLS announce a cooperative effort to re-launch a women's professional league like the WUSA with the name to be determined.

2007 - City of Fort Lauderdale announces the first ever sponsored competitive (travel) soccer club in its history, Fort Lauderdale Select FC. 

2008 - Women's Professional Soccer Leauge ("WPS") is officially named.

2009 - WPS begins women's professional soccer in April.